Falling in love with a Carnivore
by KuroRaven
Summary: Tsuna has to realises his feelings from a certain someone with a gentle push from his mentor... Fluff fic. Editing in progress.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: It's been a really long time, hasn't it? I apologise for abandoning this fic all this time, but I've been really busy. At any rate, I'm going to be editing the chapters so don't be too surprised if you see some new content. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy! **

He was dense. So, so terribly dense that it irked his tutor enough to start kicking him with that monstrous strength a baby should not possess.

"What was that for!" Tsuna yelled, rubbing his head to soothe the sharp pain. "You don't have to be so rough everytime, you know!"

"Just felt like it," Reborn shrugged.

"What kind of reason is that!"

"A legit one."

Tsuna sighed, unable to comment further when Reborn was being so vague. "So what is it?" It was probably some scary mission where he had to get himself killed, or at least something along these lines. That was Reborn, thoroughly evil.

That sharp glint was more than enough to tell that the baby was, once again, up to no good.

"I'm giving you one week. It's pretty simple. All you have to do is figure out the meaning of 'crush'." A piece of crumpled paper hit him squarely on the forehead as Reborn ended the sentence.

"Be careful, but I guess I don't have to tell you that," he smirked, before jumping off the ledge and disappearing elsewhere to work his mischief.

Gingerly, Tsuna opened the thoroughly crumpled paper.

_Don't end up like me._

The five bolded words stood out on the creased paper, the handwriting prim and proper.

That sounded terribly… foreboding.

xxxXXXxxx

What was 'crush'? What was it that he had to understand? What was with that crumpled piece of paper? What was that ominous wording?

Was he going to be trampled on? Was he going to be killed?

"-daime! Jyuudaime!" Gokudera called, desperately trying to grab his boss' attention. Lost in thought or perhaps in fear, the brunet didn't seem to hear no matter how hard his right-hand man tried.

"Jyuudaime!"

Tsuna suddenly realized where he was and what he was doing and snapped back to attention, staring right into the eyes of a thoroughly-worried Gokudera.

"Jyuudaime! Are you alright? What happened? Does it hurt anywhere?"

Tsuna smiled weakly, the barrage of questions ignored in favour of running ahead. "It's nothing! Come on, we've got to hurry or we'll be late for school!"

The lie was so blatant that Gokudera couldn't help but worry even more. 'Nothing' didn't sound like nothing at all. It practically reeked of 'something'. At any rate, it would do neither of them any good if they were late and he did not pursue the matter further. He ran ahead before he was left behind.

xxxXXXxxx

The first few lessons went by surprisingly smoothly, for someone like Tsuna. He hadn't been called up to humiliate himself with his lack of knowledge at all, and Gokudera had only glanced at him occasionally without a comment he knew the teenager was itching to pass.

Reborn's words had been resounding in his head the whole time, the little piece of paper staring at him and begging to be understood. It was annoying to say the least. He was already rock bottom when it came to his academic results. Why in the world was he getting distracted by a little piece of paper and the words of his tutor?

He couldn't help but shiver as he remembered his previous train of thought. Being crushed certainly didn't sound too tempting at the moment. He could take anything- anything but whatever hellish training that Reborn had lined up for him.

Cringing inwardly at just the thought, he quickly schooled his features as soon as he realized his surroundings. He was in school, a place to study. Not a place to draw castles in the air and start daydreaming.

Tsuna's eyes widened in horror as he watched a classmate wipe off the homework for the term break. He didn't want to disappoint his mother, much less repeat the school year! The brunet groaned at his stupidity, hating how he would have to depend on Gokudera yet again. He knew the teenager didn't mind at all and even welcomed it, but it only served to remind him of his inability to depend on himself.

A sharp rap on the classroom door instantly got his attention, the familiar hairstyle that he first saw immediately telling him that his day was not going to get any better. Unless, by some stroke of good luck…

"Tsunayoshi Sawada. Your presence is required at the Reference Room during your lunch break. Be there on time." Kusakabe maintained eye-contact to ensure he had been heard and disappeared, as quickly as he had arrived.

He had no such luck after all, and he definitely had the worst luck if he had to deal with his Cloud guardian. It was a terrible day.

There were many words that could be used to describe the aloof prefect, but none could perfectly capture his personality. Violent, sadistic, cruel… each had its own merits, but Hibari Kyouya was extremely unpredictable. For all he knew, the prefect could just turn against him at any moment, considering how the raven-haired man never quite stuck to his loyalties. That was provided he was even loyal to Tsuna in the first place.

Tsuna sighed heavily as he slumped onto his table. What did Hibari need to see him for? Surely, it wasn't to kill him for his poor results or challenge him to a fight. He'd always known that Hibari had this fascination with the way he handled his flames; it would hardly be surprising if he were to ask for a one-on-one fight.

Looking through his memories of the previous battles he had gotten into, the image of that little piece of paper came to mind. Tsuna wasn't quite sure about it, but seeing Reborn's sadistic personality, could it be that this was his tutor's idea of 'crush'?

True, some could say that Tsuna was strong. He had several attacks that were quite effect against his opponents, but against the man, Hibari Kyouya, things were never certain. He was unpredictable and brutally strong, his raw strength and speed unrivalled. That was what made him a good guardian, but if he wanted a match, Tsuna himself couldn't say for certain who would be the winner.

The minutes ticked by mercilessly, the drone of the teacher's voice ignored till the shrill of the bell signaling lunch arrived.

As punctual as ever, the teacher left the classroom right before the bell rang. Gokudera and Yamamoto approached his desk immediately after, already speaking before Tsuna could react.

"Jyuudaime! What does that Cloud bastard want with you? Will you be alright? If he even tries anything funny with you…" Gokudera growled, eyes fierce. Yamamoto, on the other hand, was as relaxed as ever. "Whoa, easy there, Gokudera! I'm sure Hibari wouldn't harm Tsuna, he isn't that unreasonable" He turned to Tsuna for emphasis. "Right?" Tsuna could only chuckle nervously, an awkward smile laced with uneasiness his answer.

"G-Gokudera-kun, I'll be fine," he added a quick 'maybe' under his breath. "I don't know how long I'll take, so you guys can get your lunch first. I'll see you guys later, okay?" Tsuna managed a shaky smile and made a mad dash for the Reference Room.

Who knew what Hibari would do to him if he continued to chat with the two. Kusakabe had already warned him to be on time, and he didn't want to take any chances.

xxxXXXxxx

Standing guard in front of the Reference Room like always, Kusakabe immediately spotted him as he silently approached. Two quick knocks and Kusakabe poking his head in to inform of Tsuna's arrival granted him permission to enter.

The Reference Room looked exactly the same as it did the last time he had come. Nothing had been shifted or changed, and even the atmosphere remained similar. Cold and terrifyingly quiet.

"Sit."

The voice rang out loud and clear in the otherwise-empty room, nearly startling Tsuna with the invitation.

His heart was thumping in his chest as he took a seat on the couch, the stifling atmosphere making him increasingly nervous.

He kept his head down as he heard the creaking of a chair while Hibari got up and made his way to the other couch opposite Tsuna.

"The baby is leaving for a holiday with all the other herbivores in your house."

Tsuna immediately stared at Hibari in surprise. Reborn had never mentioned anything like that. Besides, he'd never known Hibari as someone who concerned himself with these matters. For what reason did he bring it up anyway?

Many said that Tsuna was the type who had guts. Ironically, that was one of many things that Tsuna lacked unless it counted. He was in a situation where he was afraid to even shiver although the air-conditioner was set at a very low temperature. Question after question went through his mind, and yet nothing left his mouth.

The tense silence that followed did nothing to satisfy his curiosity and only served to make Tsuna tense up further. Hibari looked a little annoyed at the moment, and he didn't quite know how to respond, nor how he was supposed to respond in the first place.

"You'll be staying at my place. Don't mess up anything or I'll bite you to death." The tone used was as if such a result was expected, and Tsuna couldn't help but let an unmanly squeak escape.

Nerves failing, he replied with a faint "I-I'm sorry to be i-imposing on you" and a "please take care of me", mind already breaking down with the horror. He was definitely going to get killed at Hibari's house. Definitely. Couldn't he stay alone at home instead?

"They're leaving in…" Hibari glanced sideways to read the time off the clock, "half an hour's time, so you won't be seeing them. After your lessons end, get your clothes and everything you'll need and report back to the Reference Room by 9pm. Don't be late, herbivore."

Everything was moving by so quickly that Tsuna hadn't even had enough time to process all the information that Hibari was giving him. Living together was one thing, but having to live with Hibari for the whole week that he didn't have to report back to school? A single word popped into his mind.

Hell.

It was definitely going to be hell.

"You can leave now, herbivore, unless you want to be late for your lessons." Hibari prompted, tone amused. Tsuna, having realized that he had just spaced out, hurriedly bowed with a noise that he hoped Hibari took as one of understanding and took his leave.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Afternoon lessons passed by much more quickly than Tsuna wanted, his heart palpitating in fear as he thought of what was to come.

It was purely doom, Tsuna sighed. Was this Reborn's idea of a joke? This was much, much worse than a mere battle. Living together meant having to deal with heightened tension at all times and the fear that Hibari might suddenly feel like biting him to death.

Yamamoto and Gokudera had asked him what Hibari wanted and he had replied truthfully. As usual, Gokudera had gotten overly worried and come up with all sorts of scenarios that had Tsuna cowering in fear at the mere thought, while Yamamoto had tried to brush this whole matter off as a small problem.

Considering how Yamamoto wasn't the one having to live with the constant threat of being killed, of course he could afford to laugh it off.

Man... it was going to be a long week.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: The progress of their relationship is much slower, as compared to the previous version. Just look forward to the next chapter! :) Thanks for reading!**

By 8:50, Tsuna had eaten, showered, changed and packed several sets of clothing along with his homework. He'd never been known for being the most punctual person, taking his own sweet time whenever he could. The last ten minutes were spent working up a sweat and running all the way to school.

Normally, it took Tsuna around fifteen to twenty minutes to reach the school. Usually with Gokudera around, he had someone to constantly remind him to speed up. Now on his own and with a time limit, he couldn't help but start panicking. For Hibari, even the idea of seeing someone late by even one minute might seem repulsive.

An angry Hibari resulted in a violent Hibari, and that was obviously rated as Number 1 on Tsuna's "Top Ten Most Dangerous Situations". He turned white immediately and glanced at his watch, before speeding off as quickly as he could.

xxxXXXxxx

Inside his mind, Tsuna desperately prayed that the man's clock was slower than his by one or two minutes. Even if the clock were slower by a few seconds, that would be enough.

As soon as he caught sight of the Reference Room door, Tsuna let out a long breath even as he dashed for the handle and tightened his grip.

He couldn't be late, he couldn't make Hibari angry in anyway or he was truly, surely doomed. Groaning, he inwardly cursed his tutor for such a difficult arrangement. Who else would arrange something so outrageous? Who in their right mind would-

The feel of feet not meeting ground and face in some unidentified object caught him by surprise and he quickly closed his eyes, bracing himself for the impact.

It didn't seem to hurt as much as it normally did.

Cautiously, he opened his eyes, only to meet with a Namimori school jacket and a warm, comfortable chest.

_Ugh, no way…_

His eyes trailed upwards, hoping that it wasn't as he had feared.

Hibari stared at him, repulsed.

At a loss of how to handle the situation, Tsuna, could only mumble several apologies and wildly flail his arms, wondering what he was supposed to do to save the situation.

Those eyes were most certainly glaring at him and he didn't have to hear Hibari's next words to know what was going to happen.

"Get off me before I bite you to death." Quiet and yet undoubtedly deadly, the threat hung in the air like a time bomb waiting to explode.

Tsuna fumbled even as he got into a standing position, hoping Hibari's wrath hadn't been incurred by his clumsy act.

Eyes squeezed shut, he waited for the impending strike that he knew would come. Hibari wasn't quite forgiving, from what he knew. Any body contact aside from the inevitable in fights would definitely anger or irritate the prefect. Hibari looked the kind who would unforgivingly bite all who broke that unspoken rule, and this didn't seem to be an exception.

It didn't come. In its place was a loud sigh, uncharacteristic of its owner.

"Hieeee-! I'm really sorry, Hibari-san!" Tsuna watched as Hibari got up, the slight frown an indication of his irritation.

"Stop squealing, it's noisy." The atmosphere around Hibari was getting even tenser as each minute passed by. Tsuna could only nod, not daring to make any more noise. "We're leaving."

xxxXXXxxx

The raven-haired prefect was silent throughout the journey to his home. It was rather close to the school and within walking distance, a fact that didn't seem too surprising considering how he was in school by five in the morning.

Kusakabe must be a really diligent follower. Tsuna was sure that wherever Hibari, Kusakabe had to be somewhere around, waiting to receive orders. Such a person seemed to be really difficult to come by.

The awkwardness as they walked had Tsuna's thoughts running wild. What kind of environment did Hibari reside in? He remembered Hibari from the future well- the man had a large dojo along with a whole compound that belonged to him. If Hibari had a house like that at his age, he honestly wouldn't be able to survive. If the prefect happened to realize that he could use this time to test his strength against the brunet… That would be bad.

"Herbivore."

"Hiee-!" Surprised at the sudden speech after maintaining silence for the past five minutes, Tsuna couldn't help but squeak in answer.

"Herbivore, you're giving me a headache. Stop it." Hibari wasn't one for words. He eliminated all unwanted words and was painfully straight to the point, uncaring of others' feelings. Perhaps he was trying to be nice though, as he continued with an introduction. "My apartment is on the top floor."

It was nice to feel acknowledged. At least, Hibari had not completely ignored his existence and had even gone out of his way to point out his living quarters. Tsuna followed Hibari into the lift which took them right into the apartment.

It had a lavish setting, the atmosphere warm. Clean and elegant, it reflected Hibari's personality at first glance. On second thoughts though, that could be his true character. Underneath the violence he personified, Tsuna was sure there was somebody he had yet to interact with and understand. Perhaps that could be his goal for his stay- getting to know his Cloud guardian better. That was his role as a boss, after all.

"Do you live alone?" he considered, overcoming his initial fear of the prefect. Inside, Tsuna was visibly shaking. However, to achieve his goal, he had to make the first move no matter how terrifying it might be.

The death glare that Hibari sent him informed him that question was not appreciated. Hahaha… He'd stepped on a bomb right there. Nervously, Tsuna tried to laugh it off in that awkward manner of his.

Totally ignoring the inquiry, Hibari went straight on to give the brunet a tour of his house, as well as curtly state the general rules he expected Tsuna to abide by. He was not allowed to enter Hibari's room at any point of time. He must be asleep by ten every night. He must not be too noisy when in his room. There was a whole list to remember. Once rules were taken care of, Hibari left Tsuna alone to retire for the night.

The room that he had been given was by no means small. It included a wardrobe, a comfortable bed, a study table and two chairs and some empty space that Tsuna decided he could use to stretch and roll around on. Perhaps it was weird behavior on his part, but it had become part of his routine for daily stretches to prevent him from getting too strung up.

Having nothing left to do after arranging his clothes in the wardrobe properly and neatly setting his homework on the table, Tsuna opened the windows, allowing the cool breeze to brush against his face. The view was good, especially since Hibari lived on the top floor.

He admired the night sky for a moment, then tucked into his temporary bed while watching the curtains gently sway along with the wind.

The crumpled paper lay in between his homework, forgotten.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Time is being chipped off every minute and second I spend in school and on my homework. I apologize for the very, very late chapter. I hope you enjoy it! (Kinda unfinished, but I feel bad for making you guys wait for so many months so I'll just post what I have first) There may have been inconsistencies in this chapter, so please do feel free to leave me a review so I can straighten things out! :) thanks for reading!**

* * *

As expected while sleeping in a stranger's home, he had been restless throughout the night. He'd woken up countless times to the silence the dark presented him. It had taken much tossing and turning before Tsuna could allow his body to rest once more, but then he would wake up once again and be forced to repeat the cycle.

Just the very thought that he was in Hibari's home and in one of the rooms had him quivering in a fear and a warped sense of excitement. He wasn't in the comfort of his own home and for all he knew, what if Roll, the little porcupine, came in strolling through the open bedroom door? He didn't know what kind of lifestyle Hibari had, and the idea that he would leave the little box animal roaming around didn't seem unlikely. Not at all.

It was tiring being jumpy, but somehow Tsuna was able to dispel all worries and fears of ghosts, a little porcupine and a murderous Hibari in the mood for a spar in the middle of the night.

The next day, Tsuna was up and about early in the morning, the biological clock within him not allowing him to stay in bed for a minute longer. His rest had been disturbed many times and, he decided, staying in bed only further promoted laziness. Granted, he was going to become the official boss of the Vongola after all, and that meant instilling discipline in himself whether or not Reborn was around.

Just the thought of his tutor had him more annoyed than usual. Who would throw their student right into the lion's den? Oh, right. It was Reborn after all. Always going through the most difficult and dangerous method to get to his goals.

Tsuna had accepted his tutor's decision without question and he did know that it was probably all for his own good, but there still remained that immature part of him demanding to be allowed to return home, away from harm, away from terror.

Staying in the prefect's house was as good as waiting to be killed. If he really did end up like that piece of paper Reborn had tossed him, there was no real surprise. After all, that man was much stronger than him, somebody even _Reborn_ himself acknowledged.

A tiny groan escaped Tsuna as he threw the covers off, shaking his head to clear his mind and freshen up to face whatever disaster awaited him.

Tsuna exited the room and closed the door behind him slowly, trying to prevent any loud noises that would give Hibari any reasons to bite him to death. His heart was pounding loudly in his chest, the chances of getting killed high enough for him to worry about his every action.

"Herbivore."

Tsuna's hand was instantly off the handle, limbs in place to produce a stiff figure that hopefully, Hibari wouldn't find a problem with.

The man in question was in silk, black pyjamas while reading the newspaper on the couch. Head turned, storm blue eyes hid behind black-framed glasses focused on the brunet.

One new feature learnt: Hibari had terrifying eyes. They seemed to have the ability to look right into the very soul of a person, eyes filled with knowledge he himself didn't know.

Another fact: Hibari used reading glasses.

He didn't want to admit it, but Hibari could really hold that look well. Girls were sure to swoon if they were to see this side of the prefect; it was a given.

Quickly turning away from the intense staring contest they were getting into, Tsuna tried to calm his palpitating heart and mustered his courage, enough to reply with a quick 'what'. Instantly, the courage he had gathered disappeared as quickly as it had arrived, leaving him uncertain and hence regretting his action. What if Hibari got agitated with that unpoliteness he had displayed?

In answer, Hibari merely stared at him for a little longer, possibly just to make Tsuna feel even more uncomfortable before giving him an answer. "Breakfast is on the table. Don't make a mess."

Dumbly, Tsuna nodded as he watched Hibari, unsure whether he had words to add. To his surprise, there was no further comment and the prefect abruptly turned back to reading.

A tense silence followed. The very memory that Hibari had been staring at him, staring _through_him had him shaking in his pants, wondering what in the world could have been going through that man's mind.

Just trying to wander into Hibari's mind was honestly territory he should never even contemplate letting himself into. That man was different from others, he practically _thrived _on violence. He was able to exude an aura like no other, something dark and black and downright frightening. Take for example that time he had accidentally fallen onto Hibari. There had been the signature phrase and death-glare that would have reduced anyone to a quivering mess.

Pushing aside all disturbing thoughts, he shuffled to the bathroom to freshen up and then to the dining room, not expecting Hibari to have prepared his breakfast as well. Was he the type who would be so amiable and prepare Tsuna's share as well? He didn't think so.

What greeted him was a modest and normal breakfast consisting of two sausages and some scrambled eggs. _Well, obviously._ Tsuna chided himself. _Hibari-san is human after all. He eats the same things as other human beings. _For some reason, he had expected something more outrageous and abnormal, not that he had any clue of what to expect in the first place.

Taking a seat quietly, he began his meal while trying to reduce all squeaks and screeches of cutlery. Who knew what would happen if he were to accidentally smash the knife on the plate or drop something?

As he munched thoughtfully, Tsuna' eyes were focused on studying the prefect who was still reading through lines of kanji that he knew would have his eyes spinning.

He had no background information on the prefect, only knowing of his position as the chairman of the Disciplinary Committee. All matters related to his family were unknown, and personality-wise, he was quite possibly the most ill-tempered and dangerous man Tsuna had ever known. There was one thing for sure, and it was that the man held no self-restraint and did things as he liked, having no qualms about killing, or at least beating someone half to death.

That was the most terrifying part. Not knowing what might even irk Hibari aside from crowds meant having to be careful all the time, twenty-four hours a day. Surprisingly enough, Hibari had been more tolerant than he had expected. That one time he had bumped and fallen on Hibari, the one thing he knew was sure to get the prefect annoyed, it had been brushed off with unexpected calmness.

Well, it was Hibari after all. Tsuna considered his calm something similar to not offering to beat someone up. Not counting the glares, that matter had been dealt with relatively calmly.

Hibari might not be a petty man at heart… but then again, previous records had shown him to be ridiculously difficult to deal with and that just didn't seem possible.

He searched inside his mind for a plausible answer for the weird behaviour, but there just didn't seem to be any. The safest thing to do for now was to lie low and avoid Hibari at all costs, he'd figure out something by the end of the week.

At the moment, there was the problem of what he was going to do for the rest of the day. He certainly didn't mind staying at home all day, but what did Hibari think? Was he expected to leave? He didn't know the prefect's daily habits and now that it was a holiday, there was nothing that he could do to escape from the prefect at all.

Tsuna had to see how things went and go with the flow. He absently stared down at his empty plate and shuffled over to the kitchen, mind fluttering with thoughts of what he could do and what to make of Hibari's behavior.

While washing the plates and cutlery, the realization that he was in Hibari Kyoya's house seemed to suddenly strike him. It wasn't a mere understanding, but it was as if he were looking at this from another person's point of view. If he thought about it logically without terrifying himself all the time, the situation seemed extremely awkward on his part and probably annoying for Hibari.

He hated crowds, that was certain. However, why would he agree to let Tsuna put up in his house when it would so obviously be an inconvenience to him?

"Don't block the way, herbivore."

Jolted out of his thoughts, Tsuna suddenly realized that he had been standing in front of the sink for quite some time.

"Uh, yeah, sorry." He immediately stepped out of the way, the previous tension less apparent than before, and yet still there as he watched Hibari walk past and grab a cup. Uncomfortable with the silence that seemed to itch for some sound to fill, Tsuna decided to make small talk.

After all, he had decided on the goal of finding more about the prefect and maybe, just _maybe, _if such a thing were possible, to become friends with his Cloud guardian.

"So does Hibari-san have anything planned out for today? Or are you going to stay home?" The familiar sound of his heart beating much too loudly to be healthy was making him even more nervous. The fear was killing him inside.

Hibari poured himself a cup of water and begun to drink it, acting as though he had not heard the question posed.

The cup tilted as Hibari drained it, and then it was set upright again, Hibari seemingly examining it.

For those few moments, Tsuna could only watch at a side, hoping that the prefect would be in a good mood, enough to answer and entertain him.

Hibari went to the sink and begun washing the cup, only the sound of running water filling the silence.

He walked over to the entrance of the kitchen, a finger adjusting the position of the glasses on his nose. "I'm going to train later. I have something in the fridge if you're hungry." Footsteps went further, away from the kitchen and out of sight.

Tsuna half-smiled at the answer he had been presented with. Training was entirely within his expectations. Where else would Hibari get that monstrous strength of his?

Hibari didn't seem that self-centred after all. In most instances where they'd met and he had needed Hibari's assistance, the prefect had been downright antisocial and focused on completing his own goals, unwilling to listen to any suggestions. This time, though, he'd bothered to inform him that he was allowed to plunder the fridge. That was an improvement, perhaps. At least he wouldn't let Tsuna starve.

Tsuna trudged back to his room, noticing Hibari's change of clothes as he brushed past. Gone were the pyjamas, replaced with usual school attire, the armband firmly in place on his left sleeve.

Tsuna wondered whether that was the only set of clothes that Hibari owned. He'd never seen the prefect in anything but the school uniform, and he honestly doubted that there would be a human who would love a school to the extent that he would only wear the uniform when outdoors.

Perhaps he wanted to spread the school pride, but wasn't that a bit too much?

Hibari was a person who cared little of others opinions and was extremely stubborn, Tsuna considered. Perhaps that was why such an outfit wouldn't bother anyone much less himself.

He heard the arrival of the lift, signifying Hibari's leave and allowed Tsuna to rest easy. Under no pressure, he could finally explore the apartment.

There was no need for gates or locks, for the system was that one had access to a key card unique to each home, and by flashing it in the lift, owners as well as visitors would be allowed right into the apartment itself.

Fairly convenient unless one were an airhead and forgot to bring the card around, and it did well to keep criminals out. However, it wasn't the most neighbor-friendly. Then again, he couldn't quite picture Hibari being nice and sociable, so that wouldn't be a problem at all.

He stepped out of his room after folding his blanket and walked into the living room. It was fairly spacious, the design elegant and simple. There was a nice, fluffy carpet that Tsuna didn't hesitate to curiously touch and swipe his hand through it to feel its texture, and then smoothen it to hide evidence of him playing around on the carpet.

He didn't know how Hibari felt about dirtiness and things being slightly out of place, but he wouldn't take chances. From the state of the apartment, which Tsuna found to be in order, he either minded a lot about cleanliness or hardly used his apartment.

Getting up from his crouched position, he slumped onto the couch where Hibari had been reading his newspapers, settling down comfortably.

Without anyone around him, Tsuna didn't have to worry about Lambo suddenly demanding candy from him, nor i-Pin and her sudden bombs or Reborn's tough training. He glanced sideways at the clock, noticing that little time had passed since Hibari's leave.

He lazed around on the couch for a while longer, taking his time to stare at the ceiling and relax.

xxxXXXxxx

Tsuna finally decided to do something productive after some time and reluctantly got up, even as he stared longingly at the couch.

There was that huge stack of homework waiting for him in his bag, the worry of not being able to complete them in time constantly on his mind. He wasn't the best student in school, and it took quite a long time for him to finish worksheets.

If one worksheet took one day and all of his brain juices to finish, how many days would fifteen worksheets given by all of his subject teachers take?

Tsuna practically growled at the thought. It was only a week, and counting that day itself, there were only nine days, which meant only nine worksheets could be completed.

Darn it, and just when he had finally decided to work hard and study well! Why couldn't anything go well for him? It wasn't his fault that he was stupid, was it?

Perhaps it was, but that was besides the point.

Scratching his hair absent-mindedly, Tsuna trudged back to the room he had been given and plopped onto his bed, still unwilling to start on that first worksheet. That worksheet, along with many others, had been staring holes into his bag all night long.

He got up and unzipped his bag, picking out the worksheets in disdain and placed them on his table carefully. Next came his pencil case.

He got into the seat and stared at the piece of paper staring back at him blankly. Little black characters seemed to be dancing on the paper, none of them making any sense and, well, Tsuna didn't _want_ them to make any sense either.

If they did, wouldn't that mean he had no excuse when questioned why he had not done his homework. But wait, he was supposed to learn how to be a good student, wasn't he?

_Ugh._

He picked up his pen and proceeded to read the first question.

xxxXXXxxx

Three hours later found Tsuna in the same position, pen poised and back ramrod straight, paper blank, the only difference the beads of sweat evident.

He had used all of his brain cells to attempt to solve the first question, but he'd failed right at the very start. What with the _a_s and _b_s and addition and subtraction and division and multiplication and brackets and formulas, which Tsuna had failed to memorise, he had no idea how to go about solving the problem. He'd tried to solve the second question when he'd realized it was taking too long and completely fruitless.

This pattern repeated for a total of fourteen times.

Normally, at times like this, he'd call Gokudera and ask for his help. This time, though, he was going to try and figure things out himself.

And try, he _did. _He tried as hard as he could, but without even the foundations, what could he get done? He hadn't remembered to bring his textbook along, to his horror, and that probably meant a portion of his homework would probably be left undone.

Faintly, in the background, Tsuna could hear the sound of footsteps. Quiet, careful footsteps that could only belong to Hibari.

Right at that moment, his stomach decided to act up and growled for all it was worth. _Well, time for some food then…_

Now that the host was home, it would be easier to ask what could or could not be eaten. He didn't want to come across as rude.

But then again, Hibari had given him permission, so that didn't really matter. He wasn't being rude; he'd been given permission!

Tsuna walked to the kitchen and pulled the fridge door open, wondering about Hibari's diet.

It was a bit of a shock to find pre-made fried chicken and various flavours of ice-cream in the chiller, as well as quite a bit of pudding and chocolate in there. It didn't quite fit Hibari's image. In his mind, he'd always thought the prefect to be this prim and proper man who disliked all things sweet and fatty, and yet there was the evidence.

How… _unexpected._

Aside from that little change in Tsuna's image of the man, the rest of the contents of the fridge were rather normal. Eventually, he settled on a pre-made meal that could be eaten as soon as it was heated up.

Tsuna couldn't help but have this instinct to try to be as quiet as possible. Hibari was somewhere in the house doing, well, whatever it was he was doing, and he didn't want to disturb the prefect, much less irritate him.

It was turning out to be a very difficult task.

Well, what was he supposed to do? When he pressed those buttons on the microwave oven, they'd have these beeping noises that were ungodly loud, in comparison to the uncomfortable silence he was unaccustomed to.

Usually, in his house, it'd be bustling with energy and activity, but this was Hibari's house, where nothing made any noise other than footsteps, but even those were rather muffled. There was this silent need to adhere to that silence and not do anything to break it.

It couldn't be helped.

Each beep was excruciating loud and made him wince, but when all of that was done, he let out a huge sigh of relief. The food, wrapped in a plastic container, begun to spin around inside the machine and Tsuna could hardly repress that happy smile as he imagined what it would taste like.

There was some rice, vegetables and chicken draped with curry sauce which definitely looked appetizing, as Tsuna found his stomach agreeing.

_5…_

_4…_

_3…_

_2…_

_1…_

_BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP._

That noise was even louder than before and it didn't show signs of stopping until something was done. Tsuna had finally thought that the worst was over, but he had neglected to remember that very last portion where the microwave would begin its incessant, annoying and loud beeping.

In panic, Tsuna quickly scanned for the button that would cease the noise and pressed it as soon as he found it. His heart rate, which had drastically increased during his little freak out over such a small matter, gradually slowed once he retrieved the food.

Tsuna happily brought his food out to the dining room and begun to savor it, but of course after looking out for Hibari.

He wasn't doing anything suspicious at all. it was just that if the food in his hands were anything that Hibari didn't want to be eaten, then he would be better off eating secretly. He had nothing to hide! It wasn't his fault that Hibari was so scary half the time, of course he'd want to avoid him whenever he could!

xxxXXXxxx

Unfortunately for Tsuna, Hibari had heard those little irritating beeps that didn't sound as annoying until Tsuna had used the microwave oven.

He'd never known that machine could be such a pesky and noisy thing.

He'd used it quite often, but it had never bothered him like it did now, Hibari concluded as he felt his eye twitch. He was in the middle of his meditation, and he absolutely loathed it when he was interrupted.

_What in the world is that herbivore heating up?_

Hibari could feel it now- this surge of _something_ where he had this urge to destroy something, to hit something. _Nobody dared to disturb him! Nobody disturbed him!_

Abruptly, he stood up and slowly stalked over to the dining room where he was sure that herbivore was, no doubt enjoying his lunch.

He'd give that little herbivore a piece of his mind, he would. That herbivore could be as loud as he wanted anytime as long as it was kept at a minimum, but when he was meditating, he wanted silence. If there wasn't silence, he'd just beat up noisy humans or destroy noisy machines.

Tonfas already in hand, Hibari approached the happily oblivious brunet. The herbivore's hyper intuition didn't seem to work when he was either too hungry or completely off guard, which was probably why he hardly noticed Hibari's presence.

Or he was just that good.

Shrugging of these useless thoughts, Hibari raised a single tonfa, preparing to deal that blow-

Those brown eyes glanced at him, the herbivore's mouth half open while preparing to shove in a spoonful of rice.

_Oh. My dinner._

Tsuna could only stare at Hibari in shock, not expecting him to appear out of nowhere, and much less armed with a tonfa.

"Uh… H-Hibari-san?"

At least he knew fear.

Hibari glared, the fact that his dinner had been stolen from him, and dinner plans ruined. Well, he had allowed the herbivore to take some of his food, but still…

Kill him first.

A sudden flashback reminded Hibari that he had a certain promise with a certain baby, and under all circumstances, he was not allowed to kill the brunet no matter how infuriating and annoying he might be.

His irritating self had agreed to this condition.

He should have just ignored that baby – what had possessed him to agree to such a thing? It was as good as depriving him of his hobby, of relieving his stress.

Hibari gave him a cold, hard glare and lowered his tonfa. "Keep it down. Don't make such a racket, especially when I'm meditating, herbivore."

He wasn't exactly mad now, no, not at all, he was merely frustrated over the fact that he had been disturbed. He certainly didn't harbor thoughts of killing the brunet, _not at all, _of course.

Warning given, food inspected, there was nothing left for him to do in the room, other than getting more annoyed at that useless brunet who was clumsy and wasn't good for anything.

Except for fights.

That got an idea into Hibari's head. _Fights…_

It had been a long-time wish for Hibari to have a nice and long fight with the brunet. The herbivore irritated him, yes, but there was also this part of him that was surprisingly fascinating. How could someone so weak, especially at heart, be so strong?

Only when someone needed his strength did he have the ability to bring out his hidden potential. Why was that? Were weak herbivores worth his time? What was the point of only being strong for someone else and not for self-interest? He saw no logic in that.

In his younger years, Hibari had been rather scrawny and lacked physical strength, as unbelievable as it may seem. Others had hence made it a point to hide and scribble insulting words on his table whenever they got the chance to, pour water over his head and did many other unforgiveable deeds that Hibari would never forget.

Since then, Hibari had resolved to become the strong. Nobody would dare to make fun of him and they would fear him because they _should. _They would pay for hurting him.

Seven hours were spent in the gym as he worked his muscles every day, giving him hard, lean muscles that others would die for. But that wasn't his objective. They were just a byproduct of his final goal- _revenge._

There were many ways that Hibari wanted to take his revenge, but first he had to become strong.

Three years passed, and now that all those inferior beings were split up in various schools, he had to do a bit of research to find out where they were.

It didn't matter to him, really. In all honesty, it only made the revenge sweeter. Years of hard work had been put into getting stronger, and putting more effort into this could help him relish the cries of despair that would surely come their way.

Hibari had returned to his old school and requested his former school principal to give him the lists of which schools the ex-students had gone on to attend. One by one, he picked them out. One by one, he noted down where they lived and which school they were in.

It was pretty easy finding them, since none of them had moved away.

Two days later, reports of five boys being so badly injured that they had been beaten into a coma were broadcasted on television. Newscasters warned viewers to be vigilant when going home after school and after work.

But Hibari's work was done, and this matter was quickly forgotten.

The matter was forgotten, but throughout these three years, Hibari had discovered the joy of training with his tonfas and sweating. That one day when he had gone to beat up those bastards, (_herbivores_, he now called them, since he realized that they were so very harmless, just like those creatures.) he had found himself a new hobby. The sound of the cries of people in pain as they paid the price of doing something they shouldn't have pleasured him.

And now, this _herbivore _here had the potential to crush him when he was serious. It was laughable- the person in front of him was so like himself in the past, and he was already so vulnerable and yet so strong. The knowledge of this fact had his hands automatically fingering his tonfas, thoughts bubbling in excitement within his active mind.

_It would be such a waste… Such delicious prey right in front of me and choosing not to devour him would be sheer stupidity._

Hibari smirked.


End file.
